Preface: This is a bit of a long post - I wrote some intro stuff for people who aren’t as familiar with MtG and the artist proof scene, so sorry for the length!
I’m a big fan of both MtG and Pokemon. Ever since I saw the Christopher Rush Mewtwo as a kid, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of crossovers in the two franchises. Christopher Rush, by the way, drew the Black Lotus, the most expensive vintage card in MtG.
This Mewtwo below was done back when Wizards had distribution rights to both franchises. (Side question - Wizards wouldn’t have been able to give Rush any Mewtwo artist proofs, right >.>)
I always thought it was a shame that there weren’t more cards done in this crossover spirit. Recently, I went to Magic’s annual con in Chicago, where I was able to meet many of Magic’s most iconic artists. I commissioned several to reimagine their iconic cards featuring Pokemon. Generally, I tried to have them blend Pokemon into their own artworks where possible. A quick preview before some more words:
For background, unlike Pokemon, where it can be very very difficult and expensive to get artist signatures, Magic artists are generally accessible. This (I think) is because they sign very often and usually, autographs don’t add very much to a card’s value beyond its TCGPlayer cost. Unless of course, that artist does not sign often.
Where costs can go up is their labor in sketching, and also the actual card used as the canvass for the drawing. For context, every artist receives from Wizards 25-50 ‘artist proof’ versions of each card they draw. These have the same art as the normal card, but a blank back instead of the normal MTG back.
(not my card, just an example)
The blank back is often used by artists to draw commissions from fans and purchasers. With limited copies, proofs can sometimes get expensive (for a mox sapphire proof for instance, expect to pay a few thousand). In a way, the proofs can be thought of as a bit of ‘bonus’ compensation for the artist from Wizards. Although, the market for MTG artist proofs is also really small, so it balances out a bit.
(not my card, just an example)
Some artists will allow you to get a BW or color sketch on the back of artist proofs. Not every artist offers this option. They may not have time owing to a busy schedule. Some will only draw the art from their card or allow you to choose from a limited set of options.
There are however, some artists who don’t have issues drawing figures from other IPs, even famous ones like DIsney, Star Wars and yes, Pokemon. Anyways, enough background, heres some more pictures.
Dan Frazier, who illustrated the mox gems. These are very powerful cards that let you basically generate mana for free. They are on the reserve list and sell for several thousand dollars a copy.
Coincidentally, I noticed there is a mox gem for each gen 3 and 4 game (platinum included if you want to be generous and interpret it as jet). Dan agreed to draw the cover art Pokemon on each of his moxes. I think they came out great.
Yes, he drew Alter forme Giratina instead of Origin, probably he googled the wrong one, but it’s ok. 
Front for comparison. I am not that rich if you are curious lol, so they are just done on the backs of basic land proofs, as I don’t have $10k to shell out for real moxes.
Here’s Mana Vault from Mark Tedin, also a powerful artifact that lets you get 3 mana for 1.
Mark agreed to draw a Pikachu on his proof, and I love his creativity with the pose. He did this freehand in about 15 minutes.
Here’s Ken Meyers with Guardian Beast, a quite expensive card from Arabian Nights on the reserve list.
Can you guess what I asked him to turn it into? lol. I was amazed he could do such a detailed painting in such a tiny space. This is also done on a random proof. Ken ran out of the original proofs for Guardian Beast a long, long time ago.
Douglas Shuler with Serra Angel.
If this pose looks familiar to you, yes, it’s because I showed him the Altaria card it’s based on, as he had to draw the card in a real hurry.
And for a relatively newer artwork, here’s Ponder by Dan Scott.
Can you guess what meme this is based on?
Lol. I realize these cards are probably in the niche of niche interests. But it’s just a personal project of mine, I wish Wizards would do a Universes beyond for Pokemon, though I acknowledge it won’t happen since they’re rival TCGs…
If you guys have more ideas for mtg cards to modify with Pokemon, I would love to hear! I will definitely seek out more artists in the future. I think this personally is a way better use of my money than blowing hundreds on commander masters boxes. 
